Author Archives: Jade Wang

A Hangout On Air Conversation with SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet

There are 28 million small businesses in the US, and small businesses represent almost half of US private-sector jobs. What kind of support and resources does our government provide to make sure these small businesses thrive? Where can we find tips on how to start or grow a business? What funding opportunities are there?

On Wednesday, August 27th, the leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice of small business in President Obama’s Cabinet, Maria Contreras-Sweet, will join the Google Small Business Community for a Hangout on Air to share tips and insights for small businesses.



Since being appointed by President Obama, Administrator Contreras-Sweet has made a priority to meet and hear from small businesses. On Wednesday, she will answer questions directly from small businesses through Hangouts. Over the past two weeks, thousands of small business owners from all over the US, representing various backgrounds, experiences, and businesses, have submitted questions for the Administrator covering funding for businesses to technology.

Five small business participants will be joining the Hangout on camera along with the Administrator. One of the attendees, Brantley Crowder, is the director of e-commerce for Savannah Bee Company. Savannah Bee Company started in 2002 with a single beehive and a mission to support regional beekeepers by selling their honey and making honey-related health and beauty products. They started delving into digital with their website which launched in 2010 to support their stores in Charleston and Savannah.

The Hangout has participants like David Winslow, writing, “the SBA is beginning to make headway in an effort to lead the Government into a friendlier, more engaging place!”

Join the SBA Administrator tomorrow at 1:30 PM PT / 4:30 PM ET in the Google Small Business Community, a public community, which gives business people direct access to experts and industry leaders like Contreras-Sweet. The event will also be accessible live on the Google+ Your Business YouTube channel, in the event invitation, and the SBA website, and the video will be posted for viewing post-event.

RSVP to view the broadcast and submit your questions for a chance to have them answered live, on-air during the Hangout.

Posted by the Google Small Business Community

Get fresh business feedback with Reviews

When’s the last time you checked out what your customers are saying about your business on the web?

With Google My Business, you can see and respond to reviews from Google users. You’ll also be able to see feedback that customers have left on other websites.


The first step to seeing and responding to reviews is to verify your business.

Once your business is verified, visit the Google My Business dashboard, scroll down, and click Manage Reviews.

For the best experience with reviews:
  • Encourage your customers to leave feedback on Google. Reviews on Google can help your business stand out from sites with fewer reviews. 
  • Respond to reviews. Your customers will notice that your business values their input and respond with more reviews. 
  • Keep it clean. We’ll remove reviews and responses on Google that contain advertising, spam, and other stuff that violates our policies. 
With Reviews, you’ll hear firsthand feedback from the people who matter most to your business: your customers!

See the metrics that matter for your business

With the launch of Google My Business, we’ll be exploring new ways to build a strong online presence for your local business.

For this post, we’ll be focusing on using Google My Business to see how your business performs on the web. Have you ever wondered how many customers search for your business on Google Maps or whether your customers are seeing that photo you uploaded last week?


Google My Business makes it easy to find valuable information about your local business on Google, including:
  • The number of times people saw your business information show up on Google Maps, Search and Maps for Mobile 
  • The areas from which users have searched for driving directions to your business using Google Maps 
  • The number of impressions of your Google+ photos, profile, posts 
To access Insights, open Google My Business, choose the page you’d like to manage, and click View Insights. Insights are another good reason to verify your local business--you won’t be able to see the data without going through that process.

Once you’re there, you’ll see three tabs: Visibility, Engagement, and Audience.


Click Visibility to get numbers on how customers engage with your business on Google--through driving directions, clicks to your website and more.

The charts on the Engagement tab lets you know how your customers interact with your posts. You can even breakdown the information by type of post to see whether your customers respond better to picture or text posts.

Visit the Audience tab to understand the makeup of your Google+ followers, including their age range, country, and gender.

With Insights, you have the tools to watch your local business grow online.

America’s businesses are using the web to grow

Cross-posted with the Official Google Blog.

Over the past few months, we’ve had the chance to talk to businesses all over the country and hear stories of how they’ve become successful. For many, it’s pretty simple: the Internet. The web is helping businesses and communities across the U.S. to grow and succeed. In fact, last year Google’s search and advertising tools helped provide $111 billion of economic activity for more than 1.5 million businesses—advertisers, publishers and nonprofits—across the U.S.



Take Go2marine, a boat supply company located on Bainbridge Island, off the coast of Washington State. Because of their remote location, bringing traffic to their website using Google AdWords plays an important role in their ability to sell their 250,000+ boat supplies to customers in 176 countries. When it’s winter in the U.S., they rely on customers located in other parts of the world where it’s boating season, with the web bringing them business from any place, in any season.

Or meet Don Morton, who taught reading, writing and language in lower-income neighborhoods in my home town of Chicago for nine years. In 2005, he began creating his own materials to supplement what the school system provided. Realizing that his worksheets could be useful for students and teachers everywhere, he created ereadingworksheets.com to provide his worksheets for free. Don started using Google AdSense to offset his costs by placing ads next to his content, and today he’s able to work full-time on his website and make an impact on students around the world.

These are just two examples of enterprising people making the most of Google tools to find new customers, connect with existing ones and grow their businesses; you can find plenty more of them in our Economic Impact Report. Our tools help connect business owners to their customers, whether they’re around the corner or across the world from each other. And when businesses flourish, it’s good news for the rest of us. Recent data shows that businesses that are online are expected to grow 40 percent faster and hire twice as many workers as businesses that aren’t. Every year, it gets clearer that the web helps lead to more successful businesses, stronger economies, more vibrant towns, and more prosperous communities.

Learn more about our economic impact in all 50 U.S. states, and how businesses are finding success through the web. Whether it’s a part for a boat or a grammar worksheet, we’re proud to play a role in giving businesses the tools they need to do more--to grow and thrive and connect with customers and communities all over the world. Posted by Jim Lecinski, Vice President, Customer Solutions

Advertising on your schedule with AdWords Express

Cross-posted with the Inside AdWords blog.

Small businesses know the importance of being online, but running that first ad can be overwhelming. Google introduced AdWords Express to help small businesses start advertising online easily, without the need for daily management. Fast-forward nearly three years to today, and businesses around the world are seeing success with AdWords Express.

Nick Valle, owner of Nick’s Towing and Roadside Assistance, uses AdWords Express to run his business from the road. After a decade of driving an 18-wheeler and working part-time for a towing company, Nick decided to start his own small business. He started using AdWords Express six months ago, and his business is doing better than ever. He gets enough calls to keep himself and a driver busy throughout the day, and can easily track calls back to his ad with the call reporting feature.

Get results on the go with the AdWords Express app 
Nearly 74% of small business owners like Nick use mobile devices to help manage their business*, and earlier this year, we announced improvements to AdWords Express across all screen sizes. To make starting a new ad and managing an existing one even easier on mobile, we’ve now introduced a free app for Android and iOS users in the U.S. The app gives you access to all the features of AdWords Express while on the go:


Reach the right customers with new targeting options 
AdWords Express has added more control where it counts for defining your target audience. Now advertisers can choose exactly where to promote their business -- in their zip code, city, state or others around the country (currently in English-speaking countries). When customers search from their phone, they can get driving directions, call your business, or visit your website in one tap.

Let AdWords Express do the rest
When you select your business category, AdWords Express makes sure that customers searching for related topics see your ad. To improve the targeting of your ad, products and services that are mentioned on your website can now be added by AdWords Express as keywords if they are related to your ad. We’ve also added more negative keywords to exclude unwanted searches, which improves the click-through rates of ads and means a lower cost for advertisers.

Let us know how AdWords Express is working for your business, and stay tuned for additional improvements in the coming months.

Posted by Xuefu Wang, Engineering Director
*NSBA, page 4

Help your business shine with Google My Business

There’s one thing that lies at the heart of every business: customers. Customers are the reason why businesses flourish, and their shared passion for your craft is what makes running a business so rewarding. For many business owners, customers are more than just patrons - they’re your regulars, your advocates and your friends. In other words, they’re your people.

The Internet is connecting more businesses with their people every day. However, our users tell us that finding these loyal customers can be complex and time-consuming. We believe it shouldn’t be. That’s why we are happy to introduce Google My Business - a free and easy way to find and connect with your people, wherever you are.


Google My Business brings together all the ways Google can help your business shine in one place:
  • Update your business info on Search, Maps and Google+ from one place to make it easy for customers to get in touch
  • Add beautiful photos of your business and a virtual tour of your business interior to help customers see what makes your business unique
  • Connect directly with your fans and customers by sharing news, events and other important updates from your Google+ page
  • Stay on top of reviews from across the web, and respond to Google reviews
  • Understand how people find and interact with your business using custom insights and integration with AdWords Express
  • Manage your information on-the-go with the Google My Business Android app and the iOS app (launching soon)

In addition to new businesses getting started with Google My Business, we’re also upgrading current users of Places for Business and the Google+ Dashboard to this new experience.

Businesses with a passion for everything from beautiful hand-made hats and fresh crab cakes, to the best local pale ale, are finding their people with Google.

To learn more about how you can find your people, visit google.com/mybusiness.

Posted by Dan Pritchett & Dennis Troper

Happy Small Business Week!



Small business owners are some of our favorite dreamers and doers. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and two out of three new jobs in the U.S. each year are created by small businesses. It’s clear that you make a big impact with your creativity, hard work and passion.

As you grow, we know that you may have lots of questions on how to make the most of the web. National Small Business Week is a chance to say thanks for all you do for us and our communities and to share a few helpful resources.

Today we’re launching the Google Small Business Community, a place for you to share what makes your business special, connect with other businesses, and get a direct line to help from online experts. Join the community from May 12 - 16 for special content like a message from President Obama and tips from business leaders and the Small Business Administration.

After this week, the Google Small Business Community will continue providing information and inspiration. Daily posts, weekly trainings and regular Hangout series will be based directly on what you want to learn. And a team of trusted Advisors and Googlers with digital expertise will always be around to answer your questions.

We’ve also created a new Helpouts page for small businesses to get one-on-one advice with experts over video on topics like online marketing, branding and web design. And if you join the Google Business Community between May 12 - 16, you’ll get access to a Helpout of your choice.

We’re excited to meet you. Drop in and tell us a little bit about your business. Happy Small Business Week!

Posted by the Google Small Business Community team

Announcing Reviews in Google Places for Business

People come to Google to search for information about local shops and restaurants so they can make the best plans and purchases. That’s why as a business owner, you want to make sure you put your best foot forward online. With a quick search, locals -- or even people new in town -- can read reviews from your regulars to find the right place for a romantic dinner, a prize-winning turkey, or the perfect (last-minute) present for Mom.



Today, we’re introducing Reviews in Google Places for Business. Now you can learn what your customers are saying about your business on Google and across the web, in one place. If you have a verified business listing, you will now see your customer ratings and reviews in the easy-to-use review inbox.

Read and respond to customer reviews in the reviews inbox

Easily respond to customer reviews
Reviews also allows you to start a conversation with your customers by directly responding to comments left by users on Google. Are your customers happy with your service? Thank them for the kind words so they recommend you to their friends. Do they mention some areas for improvement? Ask them for suggestions so they visit you again.

And if you feel your business deserves more good reviews, or if you are missing feedback on your work, all you need to do now is to encourage your customers to post reviews on your Google+ page.

Business owners using the new Places for Business interface can now find the Reviews tab when they log into their dashboard as usual.

Not verified yet? Seize the moment and get started now at www.google.com/places.

Posted by Qasar Younis, Senior Product Manager

Create offers in minutes and reach customers on Google Maps with Google Offers

Back in July we announced new ways for consumers to discover offers with Google. Today we’re introducing an updated self-service tool for all businesses in the U.S. to easily create offers and attract customers to their stores. Using the simple offer creation tool, businesses can create their offer in minutes and showcase it to local customers across Google, including Google Maps.

Create your offer in minutes and see it go live in just a few hours
With the updated creation tool, which is rolling out within the next week, you can create your offer in minutes. Simply choose the type of offer you’d like to create and assign a budget.

Unlike traditional promotions or coupons, Google Offers will show your offer to customers based on their location, what they like, and what they're looking for. You'll only pay when a customer saves your offer, and you keep the full value of the sales you make.


Reach the right customers, at the right time, now through Google Maps
With this launch, your offer can reach customers on Google Maps when they are searching for places nearby or looking for local businesses like yours. Your business will be prominently displayed with a blue tag icon next to it, alerting customers to your offer.


Once a customer saves your offer, we’ll bring them to your door by sharing an offer reminder when they are near your store. We can help remind them when your offer is expiring too, through email and mobile alerts. Just create the offer; we’ll take care of the rest. To get started and drive more traffic to your store, visit Google Offers.

Posted by Gayathri Rajan, Director of Product Management, Google Offers

Saying thank you to our Google Top Contributors

Cross-posted with the Official Google Blog.

Every day, Google Top Contributors from around the world share their product expertise with people in Google’s official forums, from sharing helpful tips to answering burning user questions. Top Contributors not only help users directly, they champion user feedback, which gives our teams valuable insight on opportunities for improvement across various products. They contribute to 250 product communities in 26 different languages, and their expertise touches hundreds of millions of users each year. These Top Contributors are a critical part of the Google family and we brought many of them together at this year's Top Contributor Summit to say thank you.

Building on our first summit in 2011, we kicked off the second Top Contributor Summit last week near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Over three days, Top Contributors came together to discuss their favorite Google products, meet with our engineers and product managers, see demos of new products and collaborate with fellow Top Contributors.

Sebastian Miśniakiewicz, Top Contributor in the Webmasters Polish forum, talks with Program Manager Oahn Nguyen and Map Maker Program Manager Nicole Drobeck


Top Contributors met with product managers and community managers to learn the latest about some of Google’s products, and had the unique opportunity to give their feedback directly to the product team. They also sat down with designers and support team members to discuss the long and short-term vision for various products. Multi-product Top Contributor Manny Barwin (known as “The C Man” in our forums) said, “what impressed me most was the interest taken in our feedback.”

Yogi Anand, Docs Top Contributor from Michigan, tries Google Glass


Top Contributors also got a sneak peek at recently released Google products. After hearing a presentation directly from the Google Glass team, each Top Contributor was given the opportunity to try Glass for themselves. AdWords Top Contributor Adam Briggs said, “I found the best part was being able to try out Glass; it's such an awesome product and I'm really looking forward to it becoming public."

We also put on several social events where the group was able to meet Googlers, chat with their fellow Top Contributors, and have a little fun!

Top Contributors play air hockey during a social event at the San Jose Convention Center
Photograph by Paciano Triunfo


We had a great time at the summit saying thanks to our Top Contributors for all they do for our users. If you’re interested in becoming a Top Contributor, get started by becoming active in your favorite Google product’s forum or learn more about the Top Contributor Program.

Top Contributors and Googlers show their excitement on campus
Photograph by Paciano Triunfo


Posted by Sarah Claxton Deming, Top Contributor Summit Organizer